Big Ted in for Repair

Big Ted returns to have some hospital treatment after taking a beating from Rhys's wrestling moves.

He's 10 years old, still a favourite and Jean can't resist making him welcome.

Lamb Shoulder on Saturday

Not to boast about my cooking skills but the lamb shoulder brought to the table on Saturday for Jean and me was one of the best lamb based meals I have had.

Not my recipe of course  but taken from Gordon Ramsey's "Ultimate Cookery Course", Slow Braised Stuffed Lamb Breast although I used an unrolled shoulder. I also decided to cook it much slower, about 4 hours @ 120 C. The result was very tender meat easily broken up. Admittedly Ramsey's original held its form and carved into sections like a Swiss Roll.

I'm not a usual fan of Ramsey's books but this one ticks the boxes for me as it is filled with meals I really fancied eating. Jamie Oliver is my usual favourite for this reason.  The version of lamb shanks in the book is also well worth trying.

The twist that makes a difference is that the lamb is rolled with anchovies, oregano, chilli flakes and lemon zest.  Then braised with white wine, half a tin of tomatoes, onions, capers and olives.

The resulting sauce was slightly light so I brought it together with flour and butter. Jean is not that keen on tomato sauces but this was not too over powering. It was nothing like a thicker full on Italian pasta sauce.

We also ate brown rice and green beans.

I'm really appreciating brown rice this month. I suddenly get the nutty taste and texture which makes regular white rice bland and uninteresting.  It seems harder to over cook and produces a good bite. Nothing worse that squishy white rice that's mush.

While I'm ranting the same can be said of pasta. Maybe I should also re-try brown pasta. The less processed brown versions are supposed to be nutritionally better.

OK that's the target for next week.